Chapter 106In Cheollihyang Village - 4
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"Hah- I'm full. I should stop eating now. I'll get fat."
Hye-seo, having finished her meal, leaned back against her chair and put down her spoon and chopsticks.
Even though it was a shabby restaurant, the food must have been quite decent.
I could tell from the way she was gently stroking her swollen belly.
With a glass of beer filling her instead of the tension of the upcoming battle, her meal satisfaction seemed quite high.
I, too, was drinking a cold glass of beer for the first time in a while.
"It was a blessed meal for me as well. Hoho."
Next, Su-ah also put down her utensils and wiped her mouth with a white handkerchief.
Yu-ra and my mother were also finishing up their meal.
Na-yeon was still eating diligently, and it was something I had felt for a while, but she seemed promising enough to switch careers to a professional mukbang-er.
Even though it was her third bowl, far from slowing down, she looked as happy as when she first picked up her spoon.
How could so much fit into that small frame? If she had been born in the prehistoric era, she probably would have spent her days hunting.
"Hm?"
Na-yeon, who was about to put a heaping spoonful of rice into her mouth, froze.
It was because all eyes had suddenly focused on her, as if watching a real mukbang.
She must have been used to such stares, as Na-yeon smiled sheepishly and placed her spoon back in her bowl.
"Ah, haha…. It's been a while since I had a proper meal…"
"Hohoho, watching you, Na-yeon, I think I know what it feels like to be full just by watching your child eat, something I never felt while raising Tae-jin and Yu-ra."
"Pardon?"
"Tae-jin and Yu-ra weren't very good eaters. I'd like to treat you to a meal when this is over, may I invite you?"
…Well, that was true.
Remembering Tae-jin's gaunt face before the possession, it was an undeniable fact.
He was nothing but skin and bones, and suffered from the now-gone [Frail] trait just from overeating a little.
Na-yeon gave a rare, faint smile.
"I'll go anytime. With Tae-jin."
And she looked at me with a meaningful(?) remark.
Well, it would obviously be a suffocating situation for her to meet my mother alone without me, so I nodded in response.
"Hohoho. Good. No, everyone, please come. You too, Holder-nim, and our Apostle-nim."
"If you invite me, I will gladly go."
Hye-seo quickly accepted my mother's invitation, but Su-ah had a slightly troubled expression.
"Um…. I'm scheduled to return to Eternity as soon as the mission is over… If I happen to get a vacation, I will be sure to visit."
"Ah, is that so? Then you're welcome anytime."
"Thank you."
Su-ah put her hands together and bowed her head politely.
Well, a welcome was a better choice than an invitation for Su-ah.
I heard her path of return would open right after the mission was completed.
For some reason, it felt like that farewell was fast approaching, and I looked at Su-ah.
As if reading the emotion in my gaze, Su-ah gave a faint smile.
Then she whispered something chilling(?) to me.
"Of course, if we fail the mission, it won't be a return, but a 53rd reunion. Hoho."
…Don't say things like that with a smile.
Especially since you're sitting right next to me.
Anyway, since the mission bestowed upon me was to do my best to ensure Ercia could return home safely, I replied with a joke, smiling.
"Tell me in advance for the 53rd time."
Of course, in a low voice only Su-ah could hear.
I couldn't reveal the 52 regressions to the rest of the group.
"Hoho, let's hope that doesn't happen."
"Well. It won't."
I shrugged confidently.
As the friendly and plentiful dinner was drawing to a close, I suddenly realized Renia's return was getting late.
'Twenty minutes.'
I wondered if her business was the 'big one', but I knew well enough that she wasn't the type to leave the dinner table for this long.
"By the way, Reina is quite late."
I murmured, looking at the food on Renia's plate.
It had already grown cold and lost its flavor.
"Hmm, she is."
"I'll go check, just in case."
It would be nice if I could text her, but my phone was still nothing more than a video player.
So I was about to go to the restroom, but Su-ah stood up first and said,
"Brother, you stay here. I'll go. I have to take care of some business anyway."
Well, if she had business to take care of, I couldn't stop her.
"Okay."
So I sat my butt, which had slightly lifted off the floor, back down.
But at that moment.
Bang!
The restaurant's entrance door flew open as if it were about to break, and our gazes all turned towards it.
It probably did break.
I looked at the entrance, wondering what kind of crazy person it was, and an exclamation immediately escaped my lips.
"…Huh?"
"H-Sister Han-na…?"
An unexpected encounter had begun.
Her red hair had lost its vitality and become dull, her blue eyes were submerged in tears, clearly indicating that something unusual had happened.
And when those eyes, filled with fear and sorrow, met mine, I could feel it instinctively.
"Re-Reina…!"
Something terrible had happened to our Renia.
Han-na's face, which had forgotten all her usual decorum and dignity, filled only with pure fear and despair, was more than enough to make my heart sink.
"Sob…. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
I rushed over to the stumbling Han-na and supported her.
Han-na was trembling violently, as if she had the chills.
That fearful vibration was transmitted directly to me.
"I'm sorry…. Sob…."
"Don't cry, just tell me what happened! Reina, you were with Reina, right?!"
Han-na burst into tears and nodded.
At the same time, a bomb went off in my anxious heart.
"I'm sorry…. I'm so sorry…!"
"What are you sorry about! Where's Reina!"
"If I hadn't followed you, this wouldn't have happened…. Sob…."
"Fuck! So where is Reina!"
I pressed Han-na, who was muttering like a madwoman.
Cold sweat ran down my back, and my hands and feet were trembling as much as hers.
Renia.
My mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of Renia.
If something had happened to Renia, I really didn't think I could bear it.
"Sob…. Th-that is…"
"Hurry up and tell me-!!"
"Ch-Choi Do-han suddenly appeared…"
"What?"
For a moment, I had to doubt my ears.
I had seen with my own two eyes that Choi Do-han was dead.
But was she saying the dead bastard had been resurrected?
Han-na suddenly handed me a torn piece of cloth.
It was a piece of cloth smeared with blood, and the moment I saw it, I knew what it felt like for my blood to run cold.
It was a piece of the shirt Renia had been wearing.
A part of the shirt, stained with blood.
I clutched it tightly.
My racing heart turned cold and hard.
My wavering eyes calmed, and my irregular breathing was gathered in an instant.
It was the moment fierce anger overwhelmed fear.
With cold eyes, I looked at Han-na.
"He, he told me to give this to you. If you want to save Reina, come alone by 11 o'clock…. If you don't come alone, Reina will die immediately…"
"Hurry up and tell me. Where."
"H-he didn't tell me the location…. Just that if you don't find her by 11 o'clock, Reina-Unnie will die…"
…This son of a bitch.
Is he trying to play treasure hunt with me?
You persistent bastard.
And you filthy bastard.
It seems you're much better suited to being a villain than a protagonist.
Given the story's progression, it seems he's become a mid-boss level main villain instead of Han Tae-jin, but if he's begging for victory by taking a hostage, the outcome is already decided.
If he so much as touches a single hair on our Renia, I'll tear him apart cell by cell and throw him to the beasts as food.
After handing the still-terrified Han-na to Su-ah, I clutched the torn piece of shirt and raised my mana.
⚙ System Notification ⚙
[Trait 'Detection' is activated.]
[Detecting detailed location based on the object of the target you are holding.]
..
..
[Detection successful.]
[Location is 3KM northwest, and 'Navigation' function is supported as a level max privilege.]
There were only 46 minutes left until 11 o'clock.
It was a distance that would take a good 40 minutes on foot, but for me, it was more than enough time.
"Tae-jin-!"
"Son!"
"B-Brotheer-!"
I immediately began to charge towards that place.
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"You despicable bastard-! If you touch Tae-jin, I'll really tear you to pieces!"
Renia's voice echoed like a melody in the pitch-black clearing.
With mana-blocking cuffs on both hands and mana-blocking shackles on both feet.
Her mana usage was completely sealed.
And
Because her polymorph was released when her mana usage was sealed, she was in her Succubus Queen form.
"A bitch who wasn't even mentioned in the original story was quite annoying, and to think she was a succubus. As far as I know, there are no races like succubi in the original setting. What's your identity? Does Han Tae-jin know?"
"Shut up! What's it to you!"
"Pfft, well. I'll find out your identity whether I want to or not. After I settle the score with Han Tae-jin first."
"Don't touch Tae-jin. I'm really warning you!"
"Scary. Who's worried about whom? A sense of duty as a bodyguard? Is that it?"
Choi Do-han replied with a bored expression, scratching the skin on the back of his hand.
The flickering bonfire light illuminated his ugly interior.
"What would a monster like you know!"
Choi Do-han dug into his ear with his little finger and flicked away a crust.
It was unclear whether it was earwax or a flake of skin that scattered.
"Monster? Are you some kind of noble life form? You don't look any different from me."
"…!"
The words the man spat out indifferently pierced Renia's heart like a spear.
Renia looked down at her own body.
Her skin color was the same as a human's, but she had horns, her pupils were like a beast's, and she had a heart-tipped tail.
A form that left no room to refute Choi Do-han's words.
Renia's tail drooped onto the cold, dirt floor.
The longer she spent with Tae-jin, the more her identity had faded in proportion.
So she had forgotten for a moment.
This tail, these horns, and the fact that she was a 'succubus'.
Choi Do-han laughed heartily.
"Kehaha! Have you finally realized your place? As expected, monsters understand each other well. I just couldn't communicate with that bastard Han Tae-jin."
"Shut up…! I-I'm different from you!! You're just a monster driven mad by revenge! A monster who can't be loved by anyone!"
The man shot up from the flat rock and approached Renia.
"Haaa, there are a lot of things getting on my nerves today. It's good that you sacrificed yourself for Han-na, but you'd better grasp the situation quickly. If you don't want your sacrifice to be in vain."
"Kaak-! Ptui!!"
Sizzle!
But despite the man's chilling warning, Renia spat a thick glob of saliva like an angry female alpaca.
A sizzling sound even louder than Han-na's spread through the air.
The glob of saliva that hadn't completely vaporized ran down the man's cheek, hung at the tip of his chin, and fell to the floor.
Drip!
"…This bitch."
"Kakk! Ptui!!"
Another glob of Renia's saliva flew at him.
This time it hit his forehead, leaving a watery mark as it ran down his nose, hung at the tip, and fell to the floor.
Choi Do-han, hit by a second glob of saliva in quick succession, blinked his eyes.
"Someone like you is no match for our Tae-jin!"
"…I can't tell if this is a monster bitch or a camel bitch."
Grip!
Choi Do-han grabbed Renia's neck.
Then he lightly lifted her with one hand.
"Kgggh…!"
"Listen carefully. Camel bitch. I want to tear you to pieces right now, but I'm keeping you alive for a heart-to-heart, rational conversation with our dear possessor. When the conversation is over, I'll make you beg for the death you so desire, so don't rush me."
"Kgggh…! L-let go…"
"And I know you're Han Tae-jin's fucktoy, so tone down the advertising."
"Kgggh…! Th-that's not true-!"
Curiosity sparked in Choi Do-han's eyes.
"Hoh, so you're not that close yet. Kekeke."
A vile smile soon followed.
Then he took out a pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time.
"Hmm, about 20 minutes left. What do you think? If it's him, he'll probably arrive just in time before 11. Shall we prepare a surprise event before then?"
"N-no-! Let go-!!"
"Kekeke. Yes. Struggle all you want. That will make the event even more successful."
Choi Do-han's lustful eyes scanned Renia's lower body.
But
Thwock!
"Keoheok?!"
He had to roll his lustful eyes back as an arrow pierced his skull.
It was an arrow that shone with a brilliant golden light.
Letting go of Renia's neck, Choi Do-han staggered greatly.
"Keuheuk… this fucker. Who the hell is it-!"
Even though his skull was pierced, Choi Do-han didn't spill any brain matter or blood.
He staggered, but he didn't fall.
Because he, who had been resurrected as a complete undead, was already a dead body.
The man turned around.
And
"It's me. You son of a bitch."
He came face to face with red eyes that were identical to his own.
The same eyes, filled with a murderous rage and fierce hatred.
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